xoxo
by LoveIsAlwaysLouder
Summary: Audrey Waldorf Bass finds herself trapped between a Humphrey and an Archibald. What a surprise. The next generation of upper east siders has arrived
1. Chapter 1

Happily ever never

Chapter 1

Audrey Serena Waldorf-Bass was hoping that she would go unnoticed that day. She'd been out late with her friends the night before and was nursing a hangover. They'd had champagne and whatever else they could dig up in Lydia Sinclair's family suite at the Plaza to celebrate the end of the school year. She was having some trouble pulling together everything that had happened last night, she vaguely remembered something about a crystal duck and being piled into a bathtub with Jeremiah, Ellis and Theo: their clothes on and no water running, just snuggled together with their legs hanging over the edge passing a bottle of dome between them while the party raged on outside the bathroom door. They were finally done sophomore year and had one last summer ahead of them before they would have to start seriously thinking about the SATs, extra AP classes and starting to really consider where exactly they would be applying to college. These were the sort of things their parents had been considering for them since their births, but now it was the young adults turns to begin to weave their own webs of never ending stress.

Audrey Waldorf-Bass, Ellis Sparks-Bass, Jeremiah Archibald ,and Theodore Humphrey had been inseparable since birth. They had all been born on the same year in Lenox Hill hospital on the upper east side. Their parents had joked that was something in the air that year that had caused them all to become expecting, Even forever single Nate was suddenly a father to be. Serena had announced her pregnancy first, and within a few months the forever competitive Blair and Georgina were each expecting their second child. Soon, one of Nates old flings came out of the woodwork, six months pregnant. Theodore was born first, in early May, Ellis followed soon after in June, and finally accompanied by Jeremiah and Audrey in early and late July. Their parents had attended the same prenatal seminars , and they eventually attended the same mommy and me meditation and wellness classes. They had competed for the same spots at pre school, and gone against each other in piano recitals and dance performances. They all loved to compete and they all loved to win. Rather than their rivalry tearing them apart, it knitted them together. Each day they gathered on the steps of the met before walking to school, their blazers, slacks and skirts as in unison as their steps.

Audrey's door flung open, and Dorota came bustling in, a tray in her arms flicking on the light as she came in.

" no light please." she groaned burying her head deeper under her pillow.

" Your mother said it times to get up."

"I'm sick." she lied, pushing her head down into the mattress.

" No you're not. Now sit up. I have juice. and ibuprofen. Sun is shining. Lets not waste day." Audrey rolled over sitting up and blowing her hair out of her eye and huffing.

" Fine," she said knowing better than to argue with Dorota, and watch the back of her head as she left the room.

"But i'm not getting dressed if that's what you're asking! I'm not putting on pants." She called out after Dorota's retreating figure.

" Good. So you'll put on a dress. You look much better in them anyway." Her mother, Blair Waldorf-Bass was standing in the doorway a cup of coffee in her hand and her usual motherly look on her face. She strode into the room and stood over her daughter's bed, sipping her coffee and watched her child groggily threw a few pills in her mouth and wash them down with a long gulp of juice.

" What did you get up to last night?" Blair asked looking down on her daughter, trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

" Nothing too crazy we're all just happy schools done. Ready to relax." She emphasized the last word, hoping her mother would get the hint and leave her to choke down her croissant in peace. Audrey was well aware that her mother knew exactly what she had been up to the night before, but knew that Blair wouldn't press her about it.

"You're not forgetting about brunch today at the Van der Woodsen's right?" Aubry fell backwards against her pillows sighing, she had forgotten about the planned meal at her aunt and uncles and she knew that there was no way in hell she was getting out of it.

" Don't look so upset! It's nothing fancy, just the family. Now get dressed, we're leaving as soon as you're father's gets back from the airport." Blair announced, patting her daughter's leg before standing up and flouncing out of the room, her heels clicking against the hardwood of the townhouse floors. That was it. No room for excuses or discussion.

Audrey sighed as she slide out of bed and padded barefoot over to her bathroom, and stopping to stand in front of the mirror. She rubbed her hands across her face before reaching to turn on the faucet of the sink in front of her. She examined her reflection in the mirror hopping she didn't look too haggard from the night before. She had dark circles under her eyes that were amplified by just how fair her skin was. Audrey scrutinized her features in the mirror before her. She had her mother's large eyes and full lips, and her father's strong and sharp bone structure. The mixture of these elements made her quite a striking girl, and there was no doubt she was beautiful. Yet every time Audrey looked in the mirror she still found flaws to point out in herself.

After showering and getting dressed Audrey found herself sat between her parents in their town car heading towards the Van Der Woodsen, or she supposed technically Humphrey, apartment building. She was dressed in a loose t shirt material navy blue shift dress, figuring it was the closest she could get to wearing actual pajamas out of the house.

" Must we really go to this?" Her father complained, Slumping grouchily down in his seat as if he was a child.

"Seconded!" Audrey piped up. Her father was clearly just as exhausted as his daughter, but due to the fact that he had just been on an overnight flight from Moscow, Russia.

" Hush, the both of you. This is Serena." Blair stated, giving both of them a pointed look.

" she's not the problem," Chuck huffed. " Its him."

Blair rolled her eyes and Aubrey looked at her father knowingly. Dan Humphrey was not only her aunt Serenas husband, and Theo and Violet's father, but also a huge ass hole, and a drunk that the whole family only put up with for Serena's sake.

They entered the marble lobby of the luxury building that the Humphrey/ Van Der Woodsen's called home. Audrey shot Theo a text the moment they stepped into the elevator in the hopes that he would meet her at the door and she wouldn't have to put up with too much family small talk. She wasn't usually this bitter about attending family parties. In fact she usually thrived at these functions. She adored the way her aunt's and grandmother's dotted on her, praising her flawless complexion and outstanding academic record. Yet today, all she wanted was to curl up and wait for her world to stop spinning. The doors dinged as they reached the top floor and revealed the vast penthouse.

Her father placed his arm around her shoulder and stirred her into thick of the party. Her aunt Georgina and Uncle Jack were making small talk with her Uncle Eric, Uncle Nate and her brother Henry who had arrived separately from the rest of the family, as he was living on his own in an apartment close to the Columbia University Grandmother's Lilly and Eleanor were gossiping together as their husbands stood, smirking knowingly at their wives. Her aunt Serena rushed forward when she noticed their arrival, hugging her mother fiercely, before turning to her father and Audrey herself. She was slightly shocked to see the frantic expression on her Aunt's face. She was even more alarmed to see what looked to be tears building in her eyes as she tried desperately to contain them.

As Serena pulled Blair by her hand towards the kitchen, and Chuck went to join his friends, Audrey felt a strong hand clamp around her wrist and pull her away. Audrey went along with Theo willingly, glad to get away from the sound of clinking glasses and the shrill laughter of her family.

Upon entering Theo's bedroom, she found Jeremiah lounging horizontally on his stomach on theo's vast bed, his cheek pressed against the mattress and his eyes closed. Ellis was perched on the chair in the corner, large black sunglasses on her face and a flute of champagne in her hand.

" Are you seriously drinking that right now?" Audrey asked, flopping down vertically on the bed, resting her head on Jeremiah's lower back and staring at the drink in Ellis's hand.

" Hair of the dog." She stated, her voice slightly hoarse from the night before, and passing the drink over to her best friend.

"Drink up." She commanded as Audrey took the glass from her, sniffing it and wincing slightly before taking a sip and handing it back to her cousin.

Theo threw himself down on the bed the other way, placing his head on Audreys stomach, after a moment, Ellis got up from the chair and completed the pile of bodies on the bed.

" I swear sinclair slipped something in our drinks last night, i feel like i've been run over by the f train." Audrey complained rubbing her temples and pressing herself down into the soft feather duvet of theos bed.

" I wouldn't doubt it, she's probably hoping to get something juicy enough to send into the gossip girl wannabe of the month," Ellis noted shifting theo 's legs off her stomach and allowing herself to breath more freely. Jeremiah let out a large laugh as he flipped over onto his back, as Audrey's head fell against his lower stomach rather than his back.

There had been multiple try hard gossip girl wannabe's that had cropped up throughout their middle school and now high school careers. Generally they had just laughed it off as most of the posts had been complete bullshit, but having read some of the old archives of gossip girl from their parents days they were always worried that one day something truly horrific would come out. The old `post were just another reason that the whole family felt incredibly awkward around Theo's dad, who had been the mastermind of the whole site. To that day Audrey father Chuck insisted on signing all of Dan's birthday and christmas cards with _xoxo, Gossip Girl._

"Or she was just hoping to get you drunk enough to finally get into your pants T." Ellis quipped, nudging her elbow into Theo leg. He swatted her hand away.

" Well she's off the the Caymans until August so we're all safe for now." Theo chirped in ignoring Els comment.

"Thank god for that. Jer when do you leave for the hamptons again?" Ellis asked. He sighed heavily, and Audrey felt as his chest rose and fell.

" Probably some time at the end of next week. If Dad can get away from the office for more than five minutes. Theo are you guys coming out?"

" Dad been struck by inspiration so he's leaving for italy in a few days and he wants mom to bring Vi and i out there until August, but.." he trailed off.

" Inspiration? Dude your dad hasn't published in 10 years." Audrey reached over and jabbed Ellis hard in the stomach for her harsh comment. She yelped and buried her head into the mattress.

" Valid point." Theo started talking the glass of champagne from Ellis hand and downing the remaining liquid. Ellis sighed heavily before launching into the same complaint speech the group of friends had heard a million times. Her mother Georgina was consulting on a book to film adaptation in Los Angeles, and had rented a beach house in Malibu for her family to spend the summer in. Ellis included. Though she usually wouldn't turn down a beach vacation, El despised the idea of being isolated on the west coast while the rest of her friends flounced around new york state as they usually did for the month of July.. She felt a little more secure in her plans having heard that Theo would be spending the summer away as well, and thrilled when she learned that Audrey would be spending the first half of summer in France.

Despite the tight knit nature of the group, there was always the lingering doubt that if they missed out on a moment they would fall behind on the group's dynamics. They had all had their small taste of what being separated did to their social life. When Ellis had spent the first semester of 9th grade being "scared straight" at a boarding school in Vermont. When Theo had been sick with mono and had had to be quarantined in his bedroom for three weeks. When Audrey skipped the school ski trip to go to Capri with her family, Or when Jeremiah briefly lived with his mother in Rhode island for a few months before she died in the 7th grade. It was always unnerving to come back after being away and find themselves behind on the times. Unable to laugh at a new inside joke and recall the new memories made, they became an extra, a tag along, trying desperately to stay relevant until new adventures could be formed. Audrey felt an extra tinge of pain at the thought at she and Jeremiah wouldn't see each other at all during the month of July. Of course Audrey would miss are her friends dearly, but it was a running joke what July was her and Jers month. He was born on July second, while she was born on the twenty fourth. They claimed the whole of July as their special "birth" month, and used that as an excuse to act outrageously.

After a few more minutes of talk, laughing and complaining about their pounding head and churning stomachs, the group exited Theo's room and made their way down to the dining room where lunch was being served. Audrey was seated between her older brother and Theo, with Ellis and Jeremiah across. The rest of the family surrounded them, sipping their foamed topped coffee and picking off the expensive cheese and meat plates that had been passed around, and waiting anxiously for the fresh bread that was on its way from the oven. Just as Audrey was smearing an ample amount of butter on her roll, that she would surely regret later, there was the sound outrageous laughter and shattering glass. Everyone around the table jumped, and looked around to see Dan sitting at the head of the table. Blood was dripping down his hand from where he had crushed a champagne glass, and he was still laughing hysterically although no one had made anything resembling a joke.

Something like this happened at nearly every family gathering. It was almost expected now for Dan to make some sort of scene before a meal was through. No matter the time of day Dan could be found in an alcohol fueled state. It wasn't always so bad, on occasion Dan was just a little loud for a casual family event, while other times were more outlandish. It was only a few months ago that at a family gathering Dan had thrown a complete fit about his and Serena's daughter Violet using the last name Van Der Woodsen publically. At fifteen Vi was just beginning to pursue a modeling career and had decided that the name Violet Van Der Woodsen was more recognizable than Humphrey.

Their father's outburst were always exceedingly embarrassing for Theo and Violet as well as Serena. Audrey saw her mother exchanging a meaningful look with her aunt Serena, and Aud herself reached under the table to squeeze Theo's wrist in comfort.

Despite the drama Audrey looked around the table and felt the same tinge in her heart as before. She had never spent more than two weeks away from all her friends, and although it was only around a month, she couldn't believe they would all be apart for so long. But August would arrive soon enough, and then who knew what the summer would hold.


	2. Chapter 2

XOXO chapter 2

Ellis was laid sprawled across Audrey's bed, absentmindedly pulling out strands of her hair and letting out long frustrated breaths. Ellis had in theory come over to her cousin's house to help Audrey pack for her impending trip to France, but so far all El had actually done was lounge in Auds feather duvet and complain loudly about just how much she didn't want to spend the summer in California.

" I mean do i look like a west coast girl?" Ellis proclaimed loudly, tossing one of the many throw pillows from the bed across the room. Audrey emerged from the closet and gave her best friend an exasperated look.

" Its malibu not kanas. You're going to be fine." Audrey promised, dumping the arm full of clothes she had been carrying onto the bed and beginning to shift through them.

" Easy for you to say." Ellis said, rolling over onto her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows.

" You're spending the summer in France, and i'm spending the summer in fresno." Audrey rolled her eyes at El once again as she neatly folded one of her tennis outfits.

" I don't want to drink pressed juices or wear hemp, and I think I'd rather die than have to listen to a bunch of golden retriever esque surfer guys talk about how sick the waves are"

Audrey turned away from her cousin, trying to conceal her smirk. Ellis had always had a flare for the dramatics, she came by it naturally. Despite all her complaining Audrey was sure that Ellis would return after the summer praising her love for California and dropping hints about some unbelievably attractive aspiring actor she had occupied her time with.

" It just all seems so granola" Ellis hissed with disdain. While LA had a reputation for a far more laid back vibe than New York City, Audrey knew that the city held all the glamour and luxury that her best friend craved as well.

" oh please. You know your parents,you'll be yachats to Catalina and taking weekend trips to Sonoma. Plus all those studio parties your mother attends, I'm sure there won't be a single organic kale juice in sight."

Ellis let out a sigh and rolled onto her back, clutching one of Audrey's pillows to her chest.

" I wish I was going to Paris with you." Ellis said wistfully.

Truthfully Ellis had been invited to join her extended family in France for the first half of the summer and had been all set to attend when the California opportunity fell into her mother Georgina's lap.

Georgina had insisted that the whole family join her in California as a bonding opportunity, throwing a wrench into her daughter's summer plans.

Audrey suspected that this was the real reason that Ellis was dragging her heels about heading west for July. Audrey dropped a pile of folded clothes onto the floor and flopped down on her bed next to her best friend suddenly feeling slightly melancholy.

" how am I going to survive a month without you?" Audrey asked, looking over at her cousin, feeling a swell of emotion.

Audrey and Ellis had spent their whole lives as best friends. While it had taken some time for their mothers to grown a begrudging friendship with one another their two daughters have been near inseparable since birth.

Always lumped together due to their age and gender it would have been easy for Audrey and Ellis to grow jealous and overly competitive with one another, they rather grew to be more like sister than cousins.

Ellis was often the first person Audrey talked to in the morning and the final person she spoke with at night. They had no secrets, and understood one another's flaws. The most time the girls had spent apart had been during the ninth grade when Ellis had been sent to boarding school in an attempt to straighten her out after the family's housekeeper had found a small bag of cocaine when turning out the pockets of El's jeans. Ellis swore she had never used it nor had she planned to. It had been given to her at a party and rather than take it she had slipped it into her pocket and forgotten its existence. Whether the story was true or not Georgina and Jack had wasted no time in enrolling their daughter in an all girls catholic boarding school in Vermont. Ellis parents lived in fear that their child would behave how they had as young adults and wanted to cut her off at the knees before she truly became a monster.

Those few months had been hard on the girls friendship, a disconnect forming between them. Ellis had a strictly enforced lights out curfew and more homework than she had ever had before.

While Audrey loved Theo and Jer her life wasn't the same with the constant presence of Ellis.

Thankfully with enough begging, pleading and fit throwing on Ellis part she was able to convince her parents that one term at boarding school was enough, and she was back in New York by Christmas. Since this reunion the girls had never spent more than a few weeks apart. Their families often vacationed together, or the other joined in on their cousins time away from the city.

But now they had the end of June and the whole of July ahead of them, time they would not spend together.

" oh you'll be too busy wandering the streets of Paris and playing tennis in the French countryside to miss me. It's me who should be worried. I'll be hiding out on a lounge chair all month attempting to get a tan and not die from utter boredom."

Just then Dorota hobbled into the room, with a disapproving look on her face. Audrey had grown up with Dorota and loved her dearly. Dorota was a staple in their household and was very much a part of the family.

" what is this? You're bags are not packed? No time to be lying around." Dorota snapped, clapping her hands and rousing the girls off the bed.

Ellis and Audrey sat up and pushed themselves off the bed as Dorota strode confidently into the room and picked up one of the stacks of clothing that Audrey had tossed aside.

" I finish this. Your mother needs you." Audrey thanked Dorota and took Els hand pulling her backward out of the room.

The two girls rushed down the sweeping staircase of the vast Bass town house, giggling and clutching one another until they came to a stop in the dining room.

Audrey's mother Blair was seated at the head of the table, papers sprawled out in front of her, but still continuously tapping away at an ipad. Blair looked up.

" Oh good you're here." Blair said, gesturing for her daughter and niece to sit down. Blair ran a multimillion dollar fashion house and even when she wasn't working she brought that level of organization to her everyday life. Therefore family trips were often planned out meticulously, and although the family had taken the trip to france to stay with Blair's father many times, each trip was taken as seriously as the last.

It was even harder these days to get the whole family together for a long period of time. Both Chuck and Blair were often taking business trips, Henry has busy carving out his own life at columbia and Audrey was heading into her most important years of high school.

" Sit, sit" Blair said, noting that neither of the girls before her had taken a seat. Audrey gave her mother a hesitant look.

" I just want to finalize a few things." Blair said, looking pointedly between her daughter and the chair.

" You should run." Audrey whispered to Ellis. "This might take hours." Ellis smirked, gave Audrey a brief hug, flitted over to kiss her aunt on the cheek and was gone within seconds.

….

Audrey had been right in her estimation she had sat with her mother until well after dinner, going over flight plans and fretting that her brother, who had been a touch flaky as of recently wouldn't show up on time to the airport.

Audrey tried to stifle a yawn. It was barely eight o'clock and although she would be getting up early the next morning for the airport she couldn't quite justify going to bed just yet. She left her mother still sitting at the table, where she would undoubtedly remain until chuck arrived home from the office, which would likely not be until after midnight. Chuck usually tried to avoid such long hours, however leaving the company for France for a few weeks meant that he would be working a few extra hours.

Audrey stepped out the front door, intent on sitting on the front steps of the town house and enjoying her last few waking hours in New York before departing for france. She had one foot out the door when she saw a familiar head bobbing down the street.

"Jer?" She called out, prancing down the rest of the steps and down to the sidewalk to where Jeremiah Archibald had just come to a stop, smirking at her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in slight confusion. She thought that Jer would have left for the hamptons already.

" As if i'd let you saunter off to europe without a proper send off." Audrey rolled her eyes at him but broke out in a smile nonetheless.

" We may not get to spend our birthdays together this year, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't celebrate." Audrey's smile widened. Jer offered her his arm and she linked her arm through his.

They had no set destination, rather wandered through the neighbourhood and forward into the city.

Audrey wasn't conceited but she was used to people staring at her. She knew her appearance was striking, her parents good genes were to thank for that. So due to this fact she drew a lot of stares on the street. The number of lingering looks she received nearly doubled when she was walking with Jeremiah.

Being the son of a man who was once voted the world's sexiest politician Jer himself was somewhat of a work of art.

Together it often looked like they had walked right out of the pages of french vogue. Audrey was sure that most people saw them and thought that they appeared much like a couple. It would be an easy mistake to make. They often walked around the city with linked arms or holding hands. But it was all friendly. Just like Ellis and Theo, Audrey had been friends with Jeremiah since day one. Of course Jeremiah had been her first kiss. In the basement of Matt Mcgraw's townhouse in the seventh grade. It had been during a game of spin the bottle that Lydia Sinclair had demanded they all play. Audrey had decided to bite the bullet and go first, spinning the wine bottle they had stolen from the cellar and emptied. It had seemed to take forever for the bottle to come to a stop and her heart had been thudding out of her chest the whole time.

She had let out a sigh of relief when the bottle had landed on Jer, directly to her right. Better that her first kiss be with one of her best friends rather than with Donny Housemen who had yellowing teeth and sweaty hands.

Ellis, never one to be outdone or to fall behind her best friend, leaned over the coffee table and kissed Theo directly on the lips. Then as to not discriminate, kissed Her and then Audrey in turn.

That was the last time that anything remotely romantic occurred between them. Although sometimes Audrey swore that she could catch Jer looking at her a certain way. And sometimes she thought that maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing.


End file.
